I wanna buy canon...not sure which model...i wanna document by photos moments of SB culture with my friends
wanna keep it simple to use but amazing quality

any advice?

What is your budget? That has to be the first question you answer when posing this question. If sky is the limit I would tell you to get a Canon 7D with a 10-20mm lens and a 24-70mm lens. However, you may just want a point and shoot for all I know.

Do a google search for canon error 99. Happens every 5 mins to me in the snow, its a massive pita.

I've had an EOS 300D for about 6 years now and never heard of this. I use a Sigma 18-55 standard lens, and a Canon EF-S ultrasonic 75-300 mm telephoto.

To the OP, for ultimate picture quality nothing will beat a DSLR. Even a budget DSLR generally will have a very large sensor compared to even the best point and shoots, or even 4/3rds cameras (although I think the 4/3rds or whatever they're called seem like a nice middle ground). The large sensor and large optics allows much more detail, even on a lower MP camera. My DSLR is only 6.3 MP but will take significantly better photos than my 12 MP camera phone (which up until the Nokia 808 was probably the best camera phone on the market).

That said, there's something to be said for portability. My Nokia N8 is always in my pocket, and takes fantastic pictures (check some of my posts in the "post your best 5 pictures of this season" thread). I actually haven't used my DSLR once since I got this camera phone.

I will buy the new Nokia 808 pureview if/when it's available unlocked in Canada. It's got a 41 MP round sensor that's almost 1" in size, that will take full 38-39 MP shots in either 16:9 or 4:3 modes. To say it's the best camera phone is an understatement. It's got a larger sensor than most (all?) point and shoots, decent optics, etc. And it can shoot in 5/8 MP modes for e-mailable sized photos. Some people may slam Symbian but I've used them all and it's right up there, if not better in a lot of ways than the other OSes. That's a whole other argument though!

So yeah, if you're looking at some real photography, an entry level DSLR is a great option. For an all in one solution a great camera phone will work. Just remember that photography is probably 90% photographer and subject, 10% equipment. I'm a hack at best, but the basics of lighting, framing, etc. can go a long way from taking average pics to great pics.

Here's a pic I took this year at Lake Louise with the camera phone... Nokia N8

Here's one of my favorite pictures I ever took with the DSLR. It was in the first weekend I owned the camera and I think I just got lucky. I'm about 5' away from the plant, with the telephoto zoomed right in on it helping to make everything in the background unfocused. This is the small version I'm kicking myself that I can't find the full version anymore.

I have a Canon 50D at the moment with an array of lenses. Its a pretty amazing camera and it shoots 6.3fps which is a great speed for sequences and with a 1.6 cropped cmos sensor it has very high image quality.

What poutanen said about size and portability is something to consider. For me to take my camera, a couple lenses and a flash I need a bag and its about 15 lbs.

The best camera is the one you have with you, simply put. But I just try to plan to have a good camera with me

This is going to come down to what you want to do with your photos, how much you want to spend and what you want to carry. Point and shoots can be great (camera phones included) but not only is the image quality limited, what you can do with those imges (jepeg)in post production is also limited. I shoot in RAW, which means I have more of a 3 dimensional capture with all the details available so I can edit the shit out of it. A jpeg is a flat compressed version so post production is limited.

Another thing to consider is creativity. A point and shoot is almost always just auto modes, so creative shots become very difficult. With a dslr you can shoot full manual and play with Depth of Field, Aperature etc to get very creative effects. Nikon just came out with a pretty cool little camera not much bigger than a point and shoot but its full manual/auto and the lens can shoot at 10mm which is very wide. Its about $600 but its super sweet for a carry along. Also shoots HD video.

Anywyas, still need more input but hopefully we are sharing good info.

As for the error 99 - you probably have dirty contacts on your lens or battery o a loose battery door or something like that. Take you camera and give a good once over/tune up/cleaning. This could also happen if its too cold out.

t2i can do good for cheap. t3i steps it up a little more. but 70d is the way to go...If your looking for a DSLR for video then go Panasonic gh1 or gh2. they are easily hackable to shoot AMAZING video, way better than anything else for the price.

I have an eos 300d and standard canon 28-90 lens. It has worked flawlessly for years, this year I took it to japan and the cold temps were causing it to malfunction badly. To use it I would have to take the lens off and the battery out, warm the contacts with my fingers (as my fingers froze), reinstall and quickly shoot before it happened again. Get back to the warm room and it wont do it. I am not trying to scare you off but this IS a real problem with canon cameras, like I said do a google search and see the thousands of topics regarding it.

I've seen some pretty awesome photos come off of the Canon G series. G10, 11, & 12. I believe the G10 has an optical view finder which I find to be key for any camera you are going to use to shoot snowboarding.

For a DSLR, I just got an entry level model. The Nikon D5100. So far I am impressed with the image quality. The sensor is great, as mentioned by poutanen. It's the same as the D7000. The frames per second are just over 4. Fast enough to get tons of quality shots. The HD video is alright, but it could be better. I found a two lens kit with the body for $700. That is with the 18-55 lens and the 55-200. They are factory refurbished, but I also got a 1 year extended warranty with the purchase. Hard deal to beat.